Chapter 13: Time magazine.
Two weeks later: Dorcester Hotel, London. Saturday night.
‘Engagement Celebration of Miss Nell Beauclerk and Mr. Stephan Debrecht’
The main art Deco ballroom was crammed with dignitaries, Lords & Ladies and all manner of other titled guests attending the lavish celebration. The waiters and waitresses carried silver trays, adorned with champagne flutes and weaved their way through the crowd with agility and precision, like downhill slalom skiers.
The gathered throng, were all chatting and mingling, name-dropping regularly, hell-bent on impressing the other guests and fawning over the Debrecht family representatives. The music was suitably low key, from a string quartet playing upon a slightly raised staged area and the dress code was blatantly strict evening gowns and dinner suits.
Outside in the Dorcester’s iconic exterior drop-off zone, limousines swooped in to deliver further attendees and then swooped away again, ensuring the red carpet was suitably adorned with a steady-paced flow of bejeweled glitterati. Then approaching in the distance came an American army-surplus jeep, containing two very unsuitably dressed young men.
Again Moose drove like a kamikaze pilot and again Saul sat in the passenger seat with legs astride the dashboard, earphones plugged in listening to Maroon 5. The jeep entered the queue of limos, Bentleys and Maserati’s, arriving at the drop-off point. Moose jumped out, as did Saul with Moose tossing his keys to the commissionaire saying, “Look after this one it’s irreplaceable.” Then trotting off inside, with his sentinel chum following on behind. The commissionaire looked bewildered as the two young students skipped past him, leaving all the limos backing up.
The two young roommates walked into the Dorcester, with the confidence and affront of Steve Jobs at a Buckingham Palace garden party, but were soon confronted by a burly, well dressed security man, who immediately called for assistance. Moose looked suitably unimpressed and Saul calmly produced an embossed invitation, which Nell had ensured he received by passing it to Amy.
The security man double-checked the invitation and called over Stephan Debrecht’s father, who studied the pair indignantly and then waived them in after studying the invitation even more diligently.
Moose and Saul arrived at the main door to the art deco ballroom, with a mixture of trepidation and what appeared to be cocky over-confidence. They stood looking in at the assembled party revelers and then Moose slapped Saul on the back loudly and said confidently, “Let’s go do this thing!”
They entered with the poise and assurance of men-on-a-mission and walked purposefully in through the crowd who all recoiled at their dress-sense, of jeans, T-shirts and casual shirts flowing openly over the top. Moose stopped a passing waiter and grabbed a champagne flute, necking it one gulp, then grabbed two more and passed one to Saul, as they made their way through the disgusted crowd. Saul was steely-eyed and searching for just one person, whom he found in minutes. Scanning the upper-class audience, his eyes settled upon a young, perfectly formed example of how to wear a backless black, sequined cocktail dress. She had her back to the pair of unwelcome visitors and as she chatted unwittingly to her party guest, was made aware of the embarrassing entrants by a gentle tap on her arm.
Nell span around to see Saul and Moose confidently stood amidst a room of privileged guests, all eyeing them but saying nothing, just gasping and nudging, whilst making their intentions to disassociate themselves very clear. Nell swallowed hard and glided over to the boys, looking suitably nervous. She had not seen Saul, since their clandestine adventure and was more nervous of his reaction than the infectious looks of disdain flowing around the room like a Mexican wave.
“Dinner suits at the cleaners? She asked, smiling sweetly.
“Nope, don’t own one!” Retorted Moose, grabbing his third champagne, from a startled waitress.
“Listen boys, its great to have you here, but causing trouble now is not was I hoping for.” She smiled at Saul, but her eyes fell to the ground quickly.
“We are not here to cause trouble Nell.” Saul replied gently, “We’ve come to get you.”
Nell’s face fell into a frown and she nervously repeated Saul’s words.
“You’ve come to get me?”
Stephan Debrecht arrived at the group of friends and immediately butted in. “Come to wash the glasses Charity boy?” He blurted out insultingly.
Saul’s eyes never left Nell’s as he answered. “No not tonight. Tonight I’ve come to see Nell.”
“Back off charity boy,.. can’t you see you’re embarrassing her?” Debrecht grabbed Nell’s arm and began pulling her away.
Nell smiled nervously at Saul and asked, “What are you doing Saul? Please don’t spoil this evening.”
“I haven’t come to spoil your evening. I have an idea,…”
Nell looked curiously at him, intrigued,..
“You,.. Have an idea?” She repeated slowly.
“Yes, I have an idea. Actually, it’s a really good idea.”
Debrecht pulled at Nell’s arm once again. “C’mon Nell, let’s go, these guys are making you look bad.”
Nell raised her hand up flat against Debrecht. “Hold on a minute,.. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Everyone looked at Saul in unison.
“Well its simple, when we were in the desert and I asked you why you would marry a jerk like him,……”
Debrecht broke in again, “In the desert? When have you ever been in the desert? Especially with him!”
Nell raised her hand once more, “Just let me hear this,.. I’ll explain later.”
Saul continued, “When I asked you in the desert, why you would marry a jerk like him, you gave me hell, You told me your reasons,… But you then asked me if I had any good ideas. You actually said, if I had any good ideas ‘You were all ears.’”
Nell’s eyes fell to the floor in embarrassment. “If that was true, then so what. What difference does it make now?”
“The difference is,.. Now I do have a good idea. Actually, its more like I HAD a good idea – past tense. But then I sold it…. So now you see, Moose and I worth Billions. So you can have a financially secure future AND a man that loves you.”
Nell’s eyes filled with tears. Debrecht broke in yet again, “Yeah, yeah,.. You and fat boy here are worth Billions, that’s why you dress like tramps and show up here embarrassing Nell.” As he spoke he stepped forward to physically intimidate Saul, but moose simultaneously stepped forward, cutting him off and blocking his way.
“You,… You love me?” Asked Nell, quietly.
“I love you,…. I have loved you since the first day in university, when I saw you,.. And now I can support you, your family,… And pretty much everyone in this room.”
“But,.. How?”
“Moose! Over to you.”
Moose pulls from his pocket, a rolled up, copy of ‘Time’ magazine, unfurling it and holding it on top of each corner with his thumb and index finger, and little fingers extended, like drinking tea from a bone china teacup.
The magazine cover revealed a photo of both Saul and Moose, face on and shaking hands, with the headline – ‘New Billionaire Boys on the block’. As Nell read the cover intently, her father approached, with the parents of Debrecht. “Is everything ok here Nell?” He enquired nervously.
“Yes Daddy,.. It’s all fine. In fact I think everything may be better than fine.” She then turned back to Saul, “So how exactly did you guys achieve this overnight success?”
“Oh that part was easy.” Replied Saul confidently. “You just gotta know how to change reality,… And maybe change the future,…. By – oh I don’t know, creating the next big leap in computing.”
“The next big leap in computing being,…?”
“Easy, nobody likes cables. Cables are limiting, cables suck. So I,… Well WE, simply came up with a new way of exchanging data, using light beams and quantum entanglement theory.”
Nell grinned. The grin became a huge smile, a
ll across her beautiful face. “And,..”
“And what?”
“And,… You left out the most important part,… And you LOVE me!”
“And I do indeed love you Nell Beauclerk. I Love you and absolutely adore you. So don’t you think its time you came with me and my Billionaire chum here,.. And go get a life?”
“I do!”
Nell turned towards Stephan Debrecht, removed her huge diamond engagement ring and handed it back to him. “I’m sorry Stephan, but I know you have a number of other girls in tow, one of which would probably quite like this.”
Debrecht went wild knocking the ring from her hand and snarling at the pair. “So you think you can just dump me for that scumbag? You will be sorry for this Charity Boy!” as he shouted abuse at Saul he lunged forward, but Moose pushed him back with one hand and three of his friends grabbed him and prevented him from getting any nearer the pair.
Nell turned to her father, “Daddy,.. I am sorry for this. Very sorry – but I need you to do two things for me please?”
“Of course Nell.” Said her father confused. “I will do ANYTHING for you,.. You know that.”
“Then please see to it that these guests are all made aware, I have called off my engagement to Stephan and smooth it all over, then I want you to go home and NOT worry about a thing.”
“But Nell, this is absurd! What are you saying,..That this is your new boyfriend and what?,.. He will look after you now?”
“Daddy, this is Saul,… But he’s not just my new boyfriend,.. He’s a SENTINEL! He will look after everybody!”
As chaos broke out within the ballroom, Nell strode out confidently, flanked by Saul on one side, linking arms and Moose on the other side, grabbing one last champagne. Stephan Debrecht was still hurling abuse as the trio left, and with a number of male party guests desperately trying to hold him back, his eyes turned completely black!
END.
Sentinel: The Race Against Dark Energy Page 11